Dehydrator



Jan. 8 1924.

w. MREDITH DEHYDRATOR Filed Feb; 14. 1921 Patented Jan. 8, 1,924.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFlcE.

WYNN HEBmITH, F ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOB VT0 PETOLEUH BECTIFY;

mGr COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCQ, CALIFORNIA, A CUBPOBATION OF CALIFORNIA.

DEHYDRATOB.

Application @led February 14, 1921. Serial No. 444,948.

To allwlwm z't may concem Be it known that I, WYNN MnREurrH, a citizen of the United States, res1d1ng at Alameda, county of Alameda, and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Dehydrator-s, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to dehydrators which are especially adapted to remove water from etroleum emulsions. Various inventors ave attempted to remove this Vwater b passing the emulsion through lfilters. Emu sion may be dehydratedin this manner, `the water adhering to the filter cloth and collecting in masses which may be readlly removed.- The problem of removing water from such an emulsion is essentially one of agglomeration. The water particles in any such emulsion are extremelyV fine and if they can be forced together, they form larger particles which can be readily settled out by gravity. All such filtering methods which have been proposed to date are, however, open to the objection that sand, silt and various tarry and waxy substances also tend to adhere to the filter cloth which soon becomes clogged so that further passage of the oil is impossible or in many cases, the filter cloth is broken by the pressure if any is exerted for the purpose of forcing oil therethrough. Y

I propose to separate water from such an emulsion by passing it through loose material and which'is so placed that it does not become clogged as in the ordinary filter.

Referring to the drawing which is for illustrative purposes only,

Fig. 1 is aside elevation partly in section of one form of filter trough used in the practice of my invention.

- Fig. 2 is a section on a plane represented by the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a battery of such filtering` trough.

In the practice of my invention, the emulsion to be treated is forced through a pipe into the bottom of a trough 21 which is partially filled with finely divided or pnlverized material 22. This material must -jets due -to the fact that the pipe 20 is perforated as shown at 23. Each of these small jets tends to agitate and free the filtering material in the levent that it becomes clogged. the emulsion otherwise passing' freely through'the filtering material 22. In its passage through the filtering material 22,

Vthe emulsion is broken up and the fine water particles therein come in contact with and adhere to the grains of sand, each ofV which forms a nucleus about which a water drop is ,built up. The water in large masses mixed with oil are delivered through a pipe into a pipe 26, a vent 27 being provided to prevent siphoning. The pipe 26 passes downwardly and into a. second filter trough 30, the oil and water from this filter trough 'alssing in turn to a third filter trough 40.

e oil and water are finally delivered through a pipe 41 to storage, not shown. In this storage, the oil is allowed to stand4 for a period sllfliciently long to allow the large drops of water which have been formed through the succeive passage of the emulsion through the material 22 to settle out by grama.

I claim as my invention:

1. A process of agglomerating` water particles from an emulsion which comprises forcing the emulsion upwardly through a loosely held mass of commi'nuted material.

2. A process of agglomerating water particles from an emulsion which comprises forcing the emulsion upwardly in a series of fine jets through a loosely held mass of comminnted material.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, California, this 7th day of February, 1921.

WYNN MEREDITH. .5 

